Current or older model?

I am getting ready to buy a new computer and leaning toward a mac for the first time. Normally, I buy the latest and greatest, but in a recent thread someone said that for a lot of users computers are becoming massive overkill. I may be one of those users. I am actually doing reasonably well on my 4 year old Dell desktop, though I did upgrade the Ram and have just about used up the harddrive (only 30 gig). Mostly I surf the web, watch web video clips (some lengthy), and wordprocess. No games.

I want to switch to a notebook, but I am left wondering if I should go with the latest, or with a refurbished late model 15 inch powerbook that would save several hundred dollars.

Advice? Many thanks.

 

Fill out the FAQ and post back and you'll get some good first rate responses based you what you like/need.

 

For the record you can get a better PC (not a mac) for less than the cheapest mac.

 

if you really want to try a mac I would suggest getting at least one with an intel processor. As a recent switcher I can attest it has made me feel a lot more comfortable with the switch knowing that I can run windows at any time I need to. I also think the refurbished core duo macbooks pros are a good value if you don't need the dedicated video card and/or larger screen than a macbook but if not i'd probably go with a new core 2 duo macbook.

 

Thanks for the feedback ageezee. Do you know when the intel chips started? Also, how do you feel about the switch?

 

I am not so sure that is true. You can a PC with the same or better specs, but whether the quality is as good is a different story. Service will most likely not be nearly as good. Plus, Vista is looking like a bit of a pain.

 

they are currently on the second generation of the intel platform....they had some issues at first but were all fixed by the end of the first generation. i believe its been over a year now. I am a pretty big fan of osx and have been for years... my wife has an old ibook and i've always had an interested in macs but there are just certain windows applications I can't live without. Most notably for me is autodesk products as i'm an engineer but my mbp has plenty of power to run autocad even inside parallels, plus i like to game a bit too and i'm actually surprised at how many good games run natively in osx (Prey, CoD2, UT2004). Other than that i would say 95% of what 95% of people use computers for can be done in osx... and its just drop dead easy and elegant. Garageband was worth the switch alone. As far as pricing is concerned i'm a true beleiver in you get what you pay for... Macs cost a little more but to me its worth it.

 

Just wondering, but how so?

 

I should have noted that Vista being a pain was not based on my own experience, but posts I have read from others. Most, though far from all, agree it is an improvement over XP (and then, it seems, mostly for the most sophisticated user). But the security feature seems to be a hassle, and few seen to have the enthusiasm for Vista that Mac users have for its OS. Just my two bits based on reading posts on this site.

 

I'm real enthusiastic about Vista. Yes, UAC can be a pain, but the reason it's there is for security. It makes sure hackers and spyware can't compromise your system like they could in XP as an Administrator. It's better then running a standard account in XP and switching to Administrator when you need to change something (which would be the safest way). Vista is modern, secure and has a lot of cool features like the voice recognition, etc. In my opinion, it's better then the current OS X..that might change with Leopard though, who knows. Also, Mac is a closed system and games, etc you can't run on it without running windows too. LOL, I may be rare, but I'm a Windows Vista enthusiastic user. If you have any questions, I'll answer them for you (about Vista).

 

This is not a OS X versus Windows thread, so please do not turn it into that.

For the OP, you would do just fine with an older Mac, even a PPC version. I would advise you to get an Intel Mac if your budget permits though. The lowest end MacBook would be fine, or if you want the larger screen I am sure you could get a great deal on CoreDuo MacBook Pro.

 

in my opinion, get at least an intel mac, like others have said. i think for the extra money, you will get a longer lasting computer and more life out of it, plus you have the extra power for when you might need it.

 

Sorry. I won't.

 

Many thanks for all of the feedback. Given the advice, I'll probably end up getting a new MBP. Now I am just waiting for Santa Rosa, though it may not make it in time for my needs.